OK... so I lied apparently.
I somehow found time for a chapter and it's a long one!
As always please review
Enjoy
:)
The next time Killian woke or was woken to be more precise was to find Whale in front of his face. He gave a groan closing his eyes again.
"Hook... I need to do this. The quicker we do it the quicker you can go back to sleep" Whale whispered and when Killian opened his eyes again he realized it was because Emma and Junior were still sleeping on the other bed.
"What time is it?" he mumbled letting his eye slide shut again
"Early, you've still got a few hours before you leave so don't even think about it" Whale chuckled by his side.
"Hmmmm" Killian replied as sleep tugged on his again
"OK Pirate... Name?" Whale suddenly hissed as if sensing that Killian was in danger of falling asleep again.
"Han Solo" Killian spat out in reply already sick of answering the same damned questions over and over
Without missing a beat Whale carried on "And where do you live Mr Solo?"
"The Millennium Falcon is my ship but I'm not actually sure where I'm from!" Killian said peeking his eye open with a frown
"I think you'll find that it was a planet called Corellia" Whale chuckled back "but would you be serious for a second"
"Mate, if I can't have a laugh with all this... well let's just say that I don't think you want to see what the humor is hiding..." Killian said with a sigh closing his eye again
"I can imagine. Look I'm pretty sure you're fine even if you are a bit deluded if you think that you are Han Solo...Hang on, Does that make David the Wookie?"
Killian opened his eye and gave him a stare "David is NOT my co pilot... that job belongs to one person only. My Chewy is Henry, best co pilot a Captain could ask for"
Killian gave a smirk but it pulled on his split lip and he winced letting the smile fall from his face. He didn't realize that he had nodded off until he opened his eye again and the Doc was gone. It was quite disorientating to say the least but he just sighed again closing his eye to try to go back to sleep.
Literally within seconds Devin's voice was suddenly back in his head and he gasped in a breath looking back out into the dim room to make sure that no one was there. He pulled in a few deep breaths but the voice just carried on taunting him even though he was fully awake now.
Gods, not again...
He tried to start humming his song but his throat was in tatters and all that happened was that he started choking only adding more misery to his already wretched state. He lay gasping for breath trying to focus... trying to find Henry in among the chaos in his head when he felt someone touch his left arm. He physically jumped at the contact throwing his head around to see who it was but the movement had him in instant agony and left his groaning loudly as waves of pain washed through him from far too many places.
"It's alright Killian... I will sing to you. The bad boy is not here, I promise"
Junior! Calm down...it was only Junior. Killian tried to open his eye to see the boy but it didn't seem to want to cooperate as he carried on trying to steady himself, he had to get himself under control for the boy before this started effecting him too.
Then it started... Junior was singing the song that Liam had sang to him as a child and the comfort washed through him, he could feel the boy pulling himself up onto the bed by his side but he just sat there singing until Killian was settled again and was eventually able to open his eye to see Junior give him a little smile.
"Better?" the boy asked in a whisper
"Aye Lad, thank you" Killian replied
The silence hung in the air for a few seconds but then Junior gave a frown and said "When are we leaving here? I miss Henry"
"Me too Junior... we are going in the morning but this time we are going to go to the Jolly, would you like that?" Killian asked as he shifted his position but it pulled on his ribs and he gave a gasp of pain trying to curl in on himself only to trigger a cacophony of agony across his entire being... his world dimmed then went black.
He came too again some time later to find that Junior had tucked himself under his left arm and seemed to be sleeping against his chest. Killian turned his head slowly to look at the boy, how could this feel so right? It made no sense on paper, he was essentially comforting himself but it worked... he couldn't explain it but the boy could cut straight through his panic and calm him in an instant.
"What are you thinking?" Junior suddenly asked looking up at him
Killian tugged him in closer "I am thinking that I am glad that you came into my life"
Junior smiled then gave a little frown "Me too but I still miss my Liam. He would have loved it here... why could he have not come too?"
"I don't know Lad" Killian replied with a heavy sigh "I often think that my Liam would have loved it here too but life is not always fair and these are the cards that we have been dealt"
"Liam says that I should never play cards... they are the work of the devil himself"
Killian actually gave a laugh at that, he clutched his ribs tightly but didn't let his smile fall "Aye Lad, he told me that too"
But the smile fell seconds later when Junior suddenly tilted his head and spoke again "Why are you running away?"
"What? I am not running away Lad"
Junior pulled himself up to sit on the bed "I heard you tell Grandpa that we were sailing out to open water so that no one could get to us"
"Aye Lad... I need to keep you, Henry and our Swan safe"
He frowned again "Will Grandma and Grandpa be coming too?"
"No lad" Killian replied with a sigh
"Then how can you keep us safe Killian? You are hurt."
"I...I..." he stammered "We will be safe Lad, there is no need for you to worry"
"I can feel it" Junior carried on "You are frightened Killian but if the Crocodile is doing this like Grandpa said can he not get out to the Jolly even if she is far out at sea?"
Killian's mind was racing... the boy was right, there was nowhere that they would be safe and the voices were suddenly back. He felt like he was drowning, he couldn't get enough air... the room was fading fast when his own voice suddenly burst through stronger than the others.
"A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets"
"Go ahead Crocodile... do your worst"
Killian gasped in a breath...This was the Crocodile's work!
Suddenly his fear turned into anger, he grit his teeth and turned back to a very frightened looking Junior.
"You are a smart Lad Junior... he could still get to us there. The Crocodile will not win though I promise you. You see, what he doesn't know is that we are on to him and THAT is what gives us the advantage in this fight"
Junior sat up straighter and grinned "So we can figure out how to stop him and he won't know"
"Aye Lad" Killian smirked back "And I say that as soon as we get back to Regina's tomorrow we should start investigating. What say you?"
"You mean it? We get to go back to the pool house?" Junior came up on his knees and gave a little bounce
Killian chuckled "Only until I am well enough and we put an end to the Crocodile's games then we will go to the Jolly, would you like that?"
"Aye" he nodded "But not until we know that we will all be safe. I do not want anyone being hurt again"
"I will speak to Grandpa tomorrow and see if he and Grandma would like to stay at the pool house too. Grandma is pretty good with a bow and arrow. What do you think?"
"And a frying pan" he cried out and even though the pitch of his voice cut through Killian's sore head he couldn't reprimand the boy, he had just helped Killian see clearly.
Killian needed to put an end to this himself... he needed to make sure that the Crocodile was finally seen for the Demon that he truly was. A pang of guilt flitted through him when he thought of Belle, she really loved the man but he knew that in the end his friend would be better off without the Dark One in her life.
He felt better. Yes his head still hurt along with most of his body but he felt more positive than he had in a long time. He had manged to stop an attack with no one's voice other than his own.
He had found his anchor... it was himself.
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"Well this is... surprising!" David said standing just inside the door to Hook's room as he watched the Pirate trying his damnedest to eat a bowl of oatmeal as Emma seemed to be bathing the kid.
Hook grinned at him as he lent back on his pillows "What? I can't eat breakfast now!"
"No..." David said shaking his head and dropping the bag of clothes that he'd brought in onto the kid's bed "I just... I was expecting..."
"Me to be lying here feeling sorry for myself"
"Well, yeah" David chuckled "Did I miss something"
"Only an epiphany on the grandest scale" Hook replied around a wince as he tried to push the table away, David stepped forward to help "You done?"
"Aye Mate, it's not the best oatmeal I have ever had but I am sure that once we are back at the pool house Emma will attempt to make me something with a bit more taste"
"Woah... hold the phone. The pool house?!" David looked back at Hook in surprise "I thought you were all "gung-ho" about taking the Jolly out to sea"
"Aye well it would appear that I have changed my mind" Hook said closing his eye with a sigh
"I don't get it... did I walk into the wrong room?"
Hook smirked and looked back at him "I just realized that if Gold IS involved in this, being out at sea may not be the best idea so if the option of staying at the pool house is still open I would very much appreciate it if you and Mary-Margaret joined us. It would make me feel a whole lot happier if I knew that the Charmings were ready to leap into action IF any trouble were to start while we stay there. I need to keep my family safe David and right now I am in no fit state to do that"
David just blinked widely "An epiphany is not the word... more like a minor miracle!"
Hook just smirked again but in the next second he was bringing his hand up to his face "Bloody hell... whoever did this to me is going to pay, I feel like I've been put through one of those washy drying things"
"A washer drier" David chuckled but then he suddenly looked towards the bathroom making sure that Emma was still busy "Right, don't freak out"
"Why would I freak out?" Hook asked with a frown as his hand dropped back down to the bed
"Look, you trusted me once before to do what is best so trust me now. I am telling you this now because you NEED to know the whole story. Emma didn't want to tell you but I disagree... You know that it wasn't Tootles that attacked you?" he watched as Hook nodded "Right, here's the whole not freaking out part. I think that it was..."
"Devin" Hook said with a heavy sigh closing his eye
"How did you know?"
"It's the only thing that makes sense" Hook said popping his eye back open still looking very calm
"And you're not freaked out?"
"Believe me when I say that I am not happy about it but I am done being scared David. That demon will get what is coming to him of that I am sure. The Cricket once told me to stop trying to control things that I cannot and now I know what he meant. I cannot stop bad things happening that much we can both see but I can control how it effects myself and my family. I am not going to let the Crocodile stop me from being happy Mate. He cannot take that from me... I won't let him"
"Well I'll be damned" David said sitting down heavily on the chair "Did Whale put something in with your drugs last night"
Hook chuckled and grasped his ribs again "No... let's just say I had words with myself and finally saw the truth."
He wasn't sure how this had all happened but he liked this new positive Hook and while he was sure that the Pirate meant every word he had a feeling that it may not be as simple as he thought it was going to be but for now David could live with this.
"GRANDPA" Junior suddenly yelled out running into the room clutching a towel around himself
"Hey Kid" David said standing quickly to scoop him up into his arms
"Are you coming to stay at Gina's pool house with us?" he asked excitedly
"You betcha" David replied "You don't think I'm gonna let you and Henry have that whole pool to yourselves do you?"
"Swan, Swan Grandpa and Grandma are coming to stay"
"I heard Kid" Emma smiled "I guess we better get some extra food in, now get your skinny butt over here and put some clothes on."
David put the kid down again and he was off like a shot across the room swinging the towel around his head... David shook his head and looked at Hook with a raised eyebrow.
"You have no shame" he laughed
"If you've got it flaunt it Mate" the Pirate said with a grin raising his eyebrow which actually managed to pull open his swollen eye a little but it didn't last, it must have hurt as his grin turned into a grimace.
"When's Whale coming in? I presume he wants to check you over before we get going"
"No idea" Hook said fidgeting slightly "But the sooner the better I say, this bed is NOT as comfortable as the one I was just getting used to"
David studied the Pirate's face and could see that he was sweating slightly as he gave another grimace "You in pain? Did you take your meds?"
Hook sighed "I am always in pain Mate, do not concern yourself"
"Hook I am not taking you anywhere until you answer me"
The Pirate opened his eye again and gave him a death stare "I will take them when we get back"
"No, you will take them now. Where are they?"
Hook just stared and David could see his jaw pulsing as he clenched his teeth, he was being stubborn and David knew it so he lent in close and whispered
"Do you actually remember your last trip home? You know the one where you were in so much pain that you puked all over the floor... oh yeah and you made him puke right along with you."
Hook's gaze jumped to Junior and he gave a deep frown before closing his eye with a heavy sigh "They are under the oatmeal but if I take them you have to promise me that you will not go back on your word. I need to leave David. I do not want to take them and fall asleep to wake hours from now to still be here to then be told that it is too late in the day to go... I won't have it"
David moved quickly grabbing the meds and handed them over "I promise OK, just take the damned pills"
He watched as Hook palmed the pills down his throat and lay back with a grunt, David could see the tension in the Pirate's face and knew that he was struggling, he also knew that he was an idiot.
"Take a nap Hook. I promise that you will be home by lunch time but it's still early. Trust me, I won't let you down, I promise"
"I know" Hook said through gritted teeth then he peeked an eye open "I do trust you David... like a brother"
David's jaw dropped but the damned Pirate gave a smirk as he closed his eye with a sigh settling back into his pillows but he suddenly gave a smile and added "Or a Father... but you know what I mean Dad"